tepped out of the car. In the distance he could hear his
late captor's manacled hands beating on the glass of the front
windows to attract the driver's attention. There was no time to
lose, for they would be after him in a minute.

Marsh sped down the driveway, but before he reached the entrance
gate he could hear the hum of the pursuing car, and as he sprang
through the gate the car was only a few yards away. Then a most
surprising thing happened. Weakened by its rotting fibres and the
never-ending battle with the winds, the dead pine, which stood
beside the gate, swayed and cracked. The next minute it fell
crashing across the driveway in a cloud of dying splinters and dust,
effectually blocking pursuit by motor.

Marsh dashed across the roadway and concealed himself in the
underbrush. The falling pine had identified the place to Marsh as
quickly as if the men had told him its name. He was facing the
entrance to the house in Hubbard Woods.

The driver of the pursuing car had switched on the powerful
headlights to aid him in locating the fugitive. These lights warned
him of the fallen pine blocking the road. Marsh could hear the
grinding of the emergency brake; and the hum of the motor died away
as the man "killed" his engine in his effort to make a quick stop.
So swiftly had the car been moving, however, that it struck the log
with a tremendous impact which echoed through the still woods. The
front wheels scattered far and wide, and the body of the car climbed
up and rested on the pine log.

The two men, although probably well shaken up by the accident,
jumped hastily from the car and rushed into the roadway. The
headlights were shining directly on Marsh and for a moment he
thought the men might discover him among the bushes. Standing in the
glare, however, they were partially blinded and the manacled man,
realizing this, turned to the other.

"Shut off those damn lights. He'll take a pot-shot at us before we
can see him."

The driver leaped back to the car, shut off the lights, and then
returned to his companion.

"Not much danger," he said. "The guy's probably making a quick
getaway."

"Hell!" the manacled man exclaimed, "the boss'll skin us alive."

"The boss be damned!" exclaimed the other. "This guy'll have the
bulls on us if we don't get him, and the boss won't be ready for the
getaway until Thursday."

"We've got to get him!" declared the manacled man. "He can't run all
the way to Chicago. I figur